High End Luxury Cars

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Porsche AG said it has increased its stake in Volkswagen AG to 27.4 pct from 21.2 pct as it unveils a full year to end-July 2006 pretax profit of 2.110 bln eur, up from 1.238 bln, a boost fuelled by strong vehicle sales as well as one-off gains.

The spokesman said if the shareholding were to reach 30 pct, German laws require a company to make a mandatory offer to acquire the rest of the other firm, something which he said Porsche does not want to do right now in the case of Volkswagen.

The company's statement said the supervisory board has authorized the management board to increase the shares in Volkswagen up to a maximum of 29.9 pct.

Porsche's net income as a proportion of sales is the highest in the industry at 19 percent. That compares with 7.5 percent at Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-biggest carmaker, for the year ended March 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Didn't you say that getting in and out of the Lotus was pretty much a challenge? That didn't cause your injury, did it? I'm very sorry to hear about that.

Thanks, Pat.

No, I can't blame the Lotus. I took the hardtop off right after I got it, and that made getting in and out much easier.

I'll be very brief, as this forum isn't about my injury. The quick story is that the injury felt like knives in my neck so I drove myself to the hospital. The rest is history. Since the MRI's and X-rays, I've gotten four shots in the neck :sick: , and plenty of meds. I can now move around with physical therapy for a while.

So the Lotus is about to be gone. My focus is to get as much of my "life as I once knew it" back, but with new rules of the game and new limitations. I'm a trooper, though.

Here's an interesting tidbit. Remember when you emailed me that I had kind of "lost it" on the forum? The truth is I WAS pretty much out of it cause of those darned meds. :confuse: I've since learned to be more careful.

Thanks, Pat. Now enough about me. I'm hoping you'll let me talk about the Porsche next week if everything goes through as I hope it does.

I hope you're not overdoing it by buying a Porsche. My wife has back problems and I have to be very careful about driving, particularly with gear shifts which jolt the neck. The Boxster is totally out of the question for her. Also, the owner of my company has back problems and his wife gave up her Porsche because of it. Be careful.

But, I anticipate my condition to improve enough for me to be able to do many of the things I used to do, including the Porshce. I just don't want to EVER do anything that could even remotely cause a repeat performance, and that would include driving the Lotus, among other things, like surfing, etc. I'll still coach kid's sports, but I'll have an assistant coach (for the really tough stuff) from now on.

While the Lotus didn't CAUSE the situation, it would be stupid for me to consider a car like that, which is well-known for being brutal on the driver. I don't think the Porsche has that kind of reputation, except for the suspension of the GT3, from what I understand.

But, I anticipate my condition to improve enough for me to be able to do many of the things I used to do, including the Porshce. I just don't want to EVER do anything that could even remotely cause a repeat performance,

Tagman,

I find your Porsche decision very exciting indeed.I think you yourself know what's best for you.

I am tempted to suggest to you that you should wait a few months until your condition improves before buying another car. With changed conditions our tastes for cars also changes. But ofcourse I wont suggest that since it is only you that knows what is best in this particular situation of yours.

Rather than fork over big bucks to get high-performance versions of sexy sports cars, some enthusiasts are trying to get the bling without the extra ka-ching.They are going to dealers or online auctioneer eBay to buy emblems in hopes their cars can masquerade as versions that would cost thousands more.

"It happens all the time," says Myles Kovacs, president of Dub magazine, which follows car-customization trends. "People want to live outside their means."

Cruising the streets of Southern California, officials at Kelley Blue Book, an auto-buying service, say they've seen Mercedes eight-cylinder coupes rebadged as 12-cylinder versions, a sedan with emblems that would make it a coupe, and fake high-performance AMG or Brabus models.

Hey, don't worry, no one was saying that MB's Alabama plant had issues because of the Alabama workforce.

Nope, I never bought that either. There are (as thegraduate pointed out) other plants in AL and all across the U.S. the turn out better quality vehicles. The only other plant the comes to mind from a foreign make is Nissan's plant in MS. It has been very troubleseome for them.

If they are working towards each other (Lexus getting more sporty, BMW getting more reliable - neither of which I know of as true), then surely the car market can satisfy most people!

Well they are definitely trying to cross each other on those goals, somewhat. Lexus will only go so far with their quest to take on BMW. Infiniti has them beat by a country mile in that respect, but they'll still try to capture some of the BMW market. The IS350's suspension calibration and the lack of a manual tell you how far they're going to go. On the flip side most car companies are trying to match Toyota in reliability. BMW has the money and smarts to do it if they're serious about it.

But the quality woes that plagued MB at the turn of the century seem to have faded away, particularly on all of the new product.

Uhh...not quite IMO. On the S-Class I'll stick my neck out and say yes. Also the more serious things that went wrong with the E-Class (Nav, SBC brakes) have been resolved so we'll have to see how the 07' E and S models do. This will be crucial in determining whether or not MB has truly turned the corner. The ML and R being from a different plant and thrown together in a different situation than German Benzes don't inspire any belief in MB having fixed their problems with that plant and those models.

Not sure how I missed this post. Sorry to hear about your injury. Question though, a 911 has a soft enough ride for you? The SL and XK are much more comfortable as far as ride quality is concerned. A 911 is still a sports car, you're cheating...lol!!

Compared to the Lotus, a skateboard is a soft ride. Seriously, as I recall it should be OK. But, I'll absolutely test carefully before final dollars exchange hands. The GT3, however, would be totally out of the question.

The SL and XK are much more comfortable as far as ride quality is concerned. A 911 is still a sports car, you're cheating...lol!!

OH yeah! I'm grabbing every last fiber I can at this point. But, you are so right about the beautiful SL and XK. I love them both, but I don't want two vehicles of the same brand in the garage, so the XK is out for now. If the 911 is too harsh, the SL is indeed the backup, as you said.

I too was very confused by that S-class convertible picture, but if the picture is real . . . it will be interesting to see a four-door convertible that does not have a basket handle. What exactly are the rear doors hinged onto? and how do they keep the posts from flexing?

Cruising the streets of Southern California, officials at Kelley Blue Book, an auto-buying service, say they've seen Mercedes eight-cylinder coupes rebadged as 12-cylinder versions, a sedan with emblems that would make it a coupe, and fake high-performance AMG or Brabus models.

This recalls a fellow I met 15+ years ago. He kept referring to "my M3". When I saw the back of his car, the badge was "318is".

Hi Oac! What's your story these days? Are you getting an LS460 or what? I think you said you would wait awhile. I see it's been slow over in Lexico. By the way, there's a Chinese restaurant near us that makes a dish called Happy Family.

I hope you move up to the real thing some day.If you love driving, you will find there is nothing comparable in its price range across the BMW line. Remember, the cheaper the BMW, the better the performance.

I hope you move up to the real thing some day. If you love driving, you will find there is nothing comparable in its price range across the BMW line. Remember, the cheaper the BMW, the better the performance.

Perhaps you should be thinking of going for a post-graduate degree!

Yeah, well, at the moment, I'm going into Broadcast Journalism (not a high-paying field, but I aboslutely LOVE it)...maybe I'll be lucky enough to make the big time and make some actual $, and buy a Bimmer.